


Best Friends, Right?

by DaFox12



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Breakup, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Sleepiness, cuteness, various mentions of other characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-10 23:20:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11701962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaFox12/pseuds/DaFox12
Summary: Babs and Dick are best friends. That much is apparent. And when Barbara gets a call saying he needs her, she comes running. (Thankfully, there are a few other Batkids running around the city at the moment). But when she gets there, she remembers that "Best Friends" might not be what she's looking for...





	Best Friends, Right?

Lighting dashes through the sky and thunder crashes, shaking the world. The rain continues to gently flow down upon the entire city, the darkness being illuminated by each burst of lightning. The shadows of the buildings would be eerie and unsettling to someone who hasn't seen it before. But, as for most, the dark itself isn't that which one is afraid of, but rather what's inside the dark. But Barbara Gordon is in the dark. She hides there, searching for criminals in the city she shares. She sits at the top of one of Gotham's oldest and tallest buildings, resting her hand upon the head of the gargoyle she is perched on. She enjoys the view from up high. She enjoys the fact that she can see nearly everything beneath her. And the gargoyle is familiar. Her favorite spot in town.

The radio on her cowl buzzes with a police alert, and she swoops down and glides away from the gargoyle, cape unfurling along the way. The call was close, and she'll have no trouble reaching it in time. The view from up high, even gliding isn't lost on her no matter how many times she sees it. The vast, dark city, lit only by the flashes of lightning and the dull glows from inside buildings is a true sight to behold. So much life teems within. She swoops down as she approaches the alley that the crime was reported in. She sits in the shadow at first, discerning the situation for herself. She relishes the idea, too, that she is the monster hiding in the shadows. The heroic monster that protects those that deserve it. A mugger holds a young woman at knifepoint. A crime that is slightly beneath the legendary Batgirl, sure. But that doesn't mean she won't take her time terrifying the criminal by walking towards him slowly, won't take her time punching him, and won't accept the hug the young woman offers her after she returns her purse. She smiles and watches the woman go.

"Hmm. Not a bad way to start the night. But I'm sure there's something more interesting going on." She muses out loud, to herself. She reaches in her utility belt and pulls out her grapnel, shooting it at the nearby building and following the cord launched to the top. Her phone vibrates. As soon as she reaches the top, she admires the skyline once more, then checks it. A few game updates, a few random texts and Snapchats from Bette, Helena, Cassie, Cassandra, Steph, Jason and a few others. And, six missed calls. All from one Dick Grayson. She frowns. He knows she's on patrol. He's supposed to be, too. So if he needed her help, he'd radio over the comm. Which means that he called for personal reasons. She unlocks her phone and goes to the voicemail log. He only left one voicemail. She plays it, silently savoring every word said by his calming and smooth voice.

"Hey Babs, it's me. It's Dick. Heh. I uh," he pauses to sniffle. His voice sounds a little more wavery and upset than normal. "I... Kory broke up with me. I just... I need someone to spend the evening with. I know you're probably on patrol, and I would have much rather heard your voice, but I just, uh, just-" he sniffles again. "I just need to take the night off. I talked to Bruce and he told me it was fine and that he understood. Heh. I was surprised. But he actually hugged me, too. But... I guess I... I guess I'm really upset. It's been way too long since you and I have had a bff night, anyway. I've been looking for an excuse to hang with you for a while, but Kory would get super jealous every time I brought you up. I-" he sniffles once more, his voice now becoming softer with every word until his breathing becomes heavier and it becomes obvious that he was crying. "I know you didn't like her, and I should have listened to you. I'm sorry. But you can kick my ass in person, right? I'm sorry. You're probably busy. I'll take the Grayson pity train out with Wally and Roy and grab dinner tomorrow with them or something. Be safe. I love you, bestie."

The message ends, and Barbara is left with a smile on her face, hatred for Starfire in her heart and a newly-found need to see her best friend. And so, she calls him back, but hooks it up to her cowl Bluetooth so she can make her way towards the Manor. When he picks up, he can barely speak. His crying is evident and it breaks Barbara's heart into tiny little pieces.

"H-h-hi, Babs." She smiles at the nickname.  
"Dick. Hi. I'm sorry, I just got your messages. I-"  
"Oh. I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you. I'll be fuh-fine by tomorrow."  
"Where are you right now, Mister Grayson?"  
"I'm in-in the Manor. Why?"  
"Because, I'm on my way. You mean the world to me. You're my best friend. The Robin to my Batgirl. You really think I'd leave you to cry on your own? Hell no. Not a chance."  
"Buh-Babs. I was just upset and didn't think. You shouldn't have to make me fuh-feel better. We should do something soon, but not just so I can sob on your shoulder."  
"Who else's shoulder are you going to cry on? Everyone else is busy. Might as well be me." She can practically hear his smile over the phone.  
"O-okay. Thank you."  
"Hey, what are friends for? I'll be over in a few. Bye, Dick."  
"Buh-bye, Babs. I love you."

Because she's a good best friend, and because he's going through a break-up, she won't tell him about the butterflies her stomach has, or the backflips her heart did when he told him he loved her. Both times. She won't tell him how amazing he looks, what those blue eyes do to her, how much she wants to kiss those lips, how she longs to feel safe wrapped up in those arms again. Because they already tried dating, and it didn't work. Because he moved on from her. And she moved on from him. They were the other's first love. They'll always have feelings for each other. But they're not together now. All they have is a close, undying friendship that can span relationships, space missions, deaths, and codename changes. And she will be a good best friend for him, no matter how much in love she truly is.

When she reaches the Manor, she goes into the cave to change out of her uniform, first. The black, gold and magenta stare at her from behind the glass case as it spins back into the depths of the armory. She feels almost as hollow as her uniform is. Because she knows that everything that's going to happen is going to crush her a little bit more. Because he's going to tell her all the things he did with Kory, and she's going to wish it was with her instead. He's going to cry into her shirt, and her heart is going to do a few more flips. He's going to hug her, and fall asleep on her, and lay with her, and exist in her general area and it's going to drive her insane. But, she knows it can never happen again. And that sort of really completely breaks her heart.

She's silent as she exits through the clock-doorway, and doesn't make any sounds as she passes through the Manor some more. She assumes Alfred is asleep but on-call, and she knows that Titus is up in Damian's room. The TV can be heard from down the hall, and it's ghostly glow illuminates the doorway and entire room as she approaches. The family room is vast, and the couches are worn and old. She stands in the doorway for a moment, hip cocked out in feigned confidence. She sees Dick, shoveling his face full of popcorn, black hair mussed up, eyes red and tear-ruts clear on the side of his face. Tissues lie in various states of messiness and crumpled-ness all over the floor. He notices her a moment later. She gives a small smile, it's false confidence once more in an attempt to cover up her true feelings to both him, and herself. She sits down on the couch next to his feet, instantly getting comfortable. It's her usual spot for family gatherings. Her father often sits in the old armchair directly to her left, opposite of Bruce's. She makes a mental note to mention to her father proudly that she only stopped one mugging tonight and did nothing more. He smiles widely and purely at her, and her heart and soul melt into her chest and reform into something better and melt again.

"Hey," he says, voice now devoid of any indication that he's been crying. Though, used tissues still litter the floor. "Thank you for coming over to hang with my sappy and hopeless ass." She can't help but smile, then poke his foot. He squirms away because he's incredibly ticklish on his feet. And she knows it.

"I'm sappy, too, Dick. And I'm also hopeless. If I wasn't sappy, I wouldn't be here to be sappy with you." He gives her another smile, this one sleepy and cute and half-done, but still enough to make most girls explode into a million oogling pieces. Barbara Gordon, however, is not most girls. But, truth be told, it would probably be easier to take down Killer Croc singlehandedly than face another one of those smiles. Then, he pauses his movie and sits up, face drawn and rather serious. Their knees brush, and Barbara's heart flutters again. His leg tickles hers a little when it touches. Without saying anything, he leans in and hugs her tightly. Her arms reach around to return the hug in an awkward, under-the-arm manner.

"You're the best friend I could ask for." His deep voice rumbles vibrations throughout her body, completely shaking her. She's glad she can support him and love him. That's what she wants, right? She just wants him to be happy. And that means supporting him when he is sad. Being a shoulder to cry on.

"You're my best friend, too, Dick. Now let's stop just hugging and start distracting you, huh?" He smiles at that, and leans back. Their legs are still touching. "Bet I can kick your ass in MarioKart." He grins at that, a lighting bright grin, enough to stun some girls into freezing in place. But Barbara Gordon is not, nor will she ever be, most girls.

"You're on, redhead." It's about now that he notices their legs touching. He looks at them for a moment, then sits up to retrieve their remotes. She swears she can see him blushing as he walks over to the cabinet in the entertainment center. When he walks back, he sets the remote down in her lap, then searches around for a bit longer for the main remote to turn on the TV. He notices it right next to her, and thus, he reaches next to her to grab it. When he does, he slips, falls, and ends up with his face on her chest. He gives an embarrassed smile and turns a shade of red that matches Tim's current uniform. "I, uh, um... sorry." He pushes himself back up and takes the remote with him, then sits back down next to her without making more eye contact. Barbara's heart is racing. "Sorry."

They turn on the game, and Dick instantly picks Yoshi. Barbara opts for Bowser Jr. This earns her a sideways smile from Dick. She can't help blushing again after falling under his stare for a few seconds.

"What?" His smile grows wider. "Why are you staring?" He shrugs, toothless grin never vanishing.

"Guess I always thought you'd be more of a Rosalina kind of girl." She shrugs and smirks right back, not content to let that slide.

"I play Rosalina in Smash Bros. I prefer Bowser in MarioKart, thank you very much." He grins again, and the game begins. Barbara wins by again incredible landslide, far beyond every CPU and farther in front, still, of Dick, who took 7th place. He frowns and drops his controller.

"Man! How do I function again again vigilante if I can't even drive a driving simulator?" His voice is off a twinge, like it often goes when he's not being entirely truthful. She shoots him a firey, take-no-nonsense glare that even Bruce respects.

"I don't appreciate you letting me win. I can kick your ass without your help, thank you." His grin turns sheepish and he looks away, embarrassed once again. "Um... why did you let me win?" His face can't hide the redness glowing in it this time. He stumbles over his words, sounding more and more embarrassed with each that tumbles out.

"I... uh... I just... I didn't! Haha... yeah, um. I'm just that bad. Yeah." He looks away and scratches the back of his head. "I guess I just thought it would make you smile if you beat me by a lot? And it makes me happy to see you happy. Is-is that okay?" She wants so badly to fall into his arms and just let him hold her. And then, his eyes start tearing up again. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just upset right now and making other people feel happier makes me feel happier. But Kory never made me feel better. She always just used me to look good and it broke my heart when she decided to leave back to Tamaran because I... I loved her. I-ggffk!" He starts sobbing again, this time with a stronger gasp between each sob. He leans over onto Barbara and his tears start falling onto her green shirt, darkening it with each drop. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." His words start coming out with his gasping sobs, each set of apologies less coherent than the last. She rubs his head slowly and soothingly.

"Shhhh. Hey. It's okay. Shhh. Dick. She's gone now. I'm here. It's okay." He gasps again, but his sobs stop. He pulls her in more tightly still. His words and breath are shaky.

"You-you-you're right. You've always been here for me. Thank you. I love you." Her heart does another backflip. They sit there together for what feels like hours, but blissful and happy hours. And then, his sudden gasps in the middle of his breathing stop, and his breathing as a whole slows. He falls asleep in her arms. She looks down at his face, black hair falling all over the place at odd angles and mouth hanging open slightly, breathing in and out deeply. His face is peaceful.

When she checks her watch next, her eyes widen. She has an informant to meet in an hour. So she slides out from underneath him, resting his head on an pillow. His breathing never changes. Then, she tosses an blanket gently over him. She walks over, then, and admires him I'm his peaceful slumber for a few moments. She leans in and kisses his forehead.

As she walks away and out of the house, she swears she can see a smile on his sleepy face.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please comment & leave a kudo because it really really helps and encourages more writing of mine. Also, have a wonderful day! = )


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